Conference: Shaping new research thinking

Researchers from nine top universities gathered in Tempe this weekend for our first annual Information Systems Research Workshop. Our objective for the workshop was to create an opportunity for a small network of researchers to develop new lines of inquiry and forge lasting research partnerships.

By Raghu Santanam, Chairman

Department of Information Systems  

Researchers from nine top universities gathered in Tempe this weekend for our first annual Information Systems Research Workshop. Our objective for the workshop was to create an opportunity for a small network of researchers to develop new lines of inquiry and forge lasting research partnerships. As we planned the research workshop, we approached prominent researchers in domains that complement the research expertise of our faculty. Much as executives socialize their new ideas through key stakeholders in the enterprise, academics socialize their ideas through all phases of their research studies. All new research is vetted by a community of experts as the work progresses, from the early stages through the working paper, and finally in formal peer review at the journals. This is how original thinking is shaped into new knowledge that can be put to work in companies and communities. We were glad to play a key role in vetting several recent works from our academic peers (including research from our faculty). A dozen working papers were presented and discussed, including four from our faculty:

Sang Pil Han: "Excessive Dependence on Mobile Social Apps: A Rational Addiction Perspective"

Social apps have been painted as a boon to interpersonal connectivity within or across one’s social boundaries. Yet, the excessive use of and compulsive dependence on such apps have become major social problems around the globe. The benefits acquired from social apps appear to be overshadowed by addiction-related challenges. In illuminating this issue, survey-based inquiries grounded in psychological frameworks are commonplace, but scant attention has been devoted to economics-based empirical works on the dark side of connectivities that are brought forth by addiction to ubiquitous social technologies. Using 13-month, individual-level panel data on the weekly app usage of thousands of smartphone users, this study delved into whether the fundamental economic principles of utility maximization regulate our consumption patterns for highly addictive social apps, such as SNSs and social games.

Rob Hornyak: “How Effective Enterprise System Use Leads to Job Performance Benefits in Mandatory Use Contexts: A Longitudinal Field Study”

Enterprise system (ES) implementations frequently fail to deliver the expected job-related benefits. The research literature is clear that the realization of benefits depends on how these systems are used, motivating the team to focus on the effective use of ES. In a field study of knowledge workers’ mandated use of an ES at a large organization, researchers examined how the user’s perceptions of their pre-implementation work processes impacts their post-implementation effective use of the ES and how job performance benefits are realized from such ES use.

Yili (Kevin) Hong: "Surviving and Thriving in Online Labor Markets: A Geoeconomic Analysis"

Previous research on online labor markets (OLM) suggests that IT service providers from developed countries enjoy systematic advantages, yet most providers in OLM are from developing countries: the jobs are flowing to the developing countries, while the employers remain in the developed countries. In this study, we conduct a geoeconomic analysis on IT service providers’ survival and wage growth, utilizing a unique longitudinal panel data set comprising 40,874 IT service providers from 150 different countries over a period of more than four years (2006 to 2010). Contrary to the prior literature, we found a systematic advantage for IT service providers from developing countries in terms of both survival and wage growth, especially when they were able to signal their individual quality. We explain and discuss the mechanisms underlying these effects, and highlight implications for online labor markets for IT services.

Michael Shi: “With a little help from their (former) employers: How entrepreneurs benefit from working at prominent companies”

Spawns — new ventures founded by former employees of prominent companies — have been documented to enjoy a greater chance of success, but the underlying mechanisms have not been fully explored. This research analyzed a large sample of U.S. technology startups, and discovered that the benefits are multiple. Spawns are more likely to secure early-stage financing and more likely to get acquired or become public. The advantage occurs, however, only if they operate in a business similar to their founders’ past employers. And, though working at prominent companies prepares entrepreneurs in the management and technology of their new ventures, it is not an advantage in market timing for entry. Last, the spawns’ advantage appears to diminish after the startups get early-stage financing.